Horror High
by DarkMignonette
Summary: Hellsing's latest mission sends Pip and Seras to an abandoned school. The rouge vampire proves hard the find...leaving the duo to work together. Bits of their past revealed? Oneshot


This was written for a Hellsing theme challenge on Livejournal..the theme being school. I think most people write drabble for challenges..I don't, obviously, eheh. I have to go and elaborate on everything.

I tried to keep everyone in character, because that's important isn't it?

Disclaimer: I am not Kouta Hirano-san, therefore, get this. _I don't own Hellsing! _

On with the story!

* * *

The hall was dark as she rounded the corner slowly, gun first. There had been no need to take her over-sized Harkonnen this time, and it was replaced with a small handgun. It made Seras feel as if she was on the police force again. 

Scanning over the deserted hallway, she could find no threat. She lowered her arm, body remaining tense on instinct.

The place really was quiet, not a sound could be heard, save for the echo of her own footsteps. It was loud among all the silence, as it reverberated back from the endless rooms and halls.

She stepped over fallen pieces of concrete, trash, and even books as she walked. The whole place was gray, dull, covered in shadows. She half expected a monster to jump out from the rusted lockers.

She lifted the walkie-talkie from her hip. "Bernadette, where are you? Over."

The next hall over, Pip and two of his men where inspecting a dusty classroom. They thought they spotted movement, a large form, but it had vanished as soon as they saw it. They were in the darkest section of the old building, vision was poor, and they tripped over objects as they walked. Needless to say, the mercenaries were starting to get frustrated.

Then the loud crack of the talkie and sudden sound of Seras' voice made them all jump. One of the men, Jim, had let out a yelp.

Pip grumbled in annoyance. The whole mission was to find a vampire, and it was now the third hour, but no sign of anything. Except for that shadow which they had lost sight of. The only thing they had succeeded in so far was making themselves jumpy. "We're by ze...big 'all of classrooms, can't see ze damn room number. Mignonette, what's your location, over."

Seras thought communicating with him was hard this way. He was difficult to understand between his accent and the static. "Captain, I'm by..room 56. Why don't you use your flashlight? Over."

"Because ze fucking thing won't work." He hit it on top of a desk. "I think it's batteries went dead. Or somezing. Over."

Great. She knew they couldn't see a thing in the dark, and the fact that there was a vampire lurking around didn't help. "We need to find each other. Try to make your way back where we started, and I'll meet you there."

She got no response. "...Over." She added.

Silence. She hesitated. "Captain, are you there?"

She waited.

Still, nothing. She was slowly becoming alarmed. "Pip, hello??"

She turned around and sped up her pace, straining to see or hear anything in the dark. She hoped she could find them before anything else did.

Finally he replied, much to her relief. "Sorry, we saw a figure, moving back down a 'allway. We 'ave to find you and go after it, stay in one place."

"Why don't I find you? You sound clear, so you must be close, over."

"Be careful girlie, I think ze monster is around a big group of lockers. Stay aware of your surroundings."

He must not have heard her. Group of lockers? Where she was had--

She started towards the end of the hallway, gun pointed. She didn't see anything, but she didn't like the fact that a bloodsucker could be around.

The walkie-talkie let out a burst of static. "Seras!" Pip yelled from the other end. "We see ze enemy, what's your location, over!?"

She strained to make out anything, but only saw more lockers and rooms. She was feeling very uneasy, and started babbling. "Uh, um, around room 56, there's two doors to my left and-...wait! Don't go after it! You can't even see anything-!"

She got static in response. "Answer me, idiot! _Please!"_She was yelling now. "Bloody hell, wait on me or you'll get killed!"

She could see shapes moving towards her from down the hall, but couldn't make out the faces. Was it them or the vampire?

Either way, it was running at her, and she held up her gun.

As it got closer, she could see three outlines, and what appeared to be a swinging rope. Or a long braid.

Her happiness was short lived when she realized they mistook her for the enemy vampire. She could tell that they were afraid, they reeked of fear.

"H-hey-"

Too late. Seras was jerked roughly by the arm, the end of a gun shoved at her cheek.

"WAIT! It's me, it's me!" She yelped. "Don't shoot!"

Pip moved the weapon and let go. They all relaxed. "Dammit girl, I asked you your location!"

She glared at him, though she knew he couldn't see it. "I told you! Room 56! But it's a good thing I wasn't the enemy, or you would've gotten eaten!" She pushed him away. "I said to wait for me, you can't even see your hand in front of your own face, and yet you were going to shoot me. I thought you had more sense than that!"

He face-faulted. "Hey it was your idea to split off from ze group! And 'ere we were chasing you ze whole fucking time!"

"You just should have brought a better flashlight, so you could tell who I was!"

"Idiot!" They both said at once.

The other two men just stood there and listened. No point in trying to break up the two's argument, that was impossible.

Though Jim decided to put in his opinion. "Well, at least we did find a vampire boss."

"Shut up."

Seras huffed. This whole mission had gotten them all worked up and grumpy. A rouge vamp had supposedly killed a group of students that had been sneaking around. It was an abandoned school that hadn't been used in years, and she wondered why anyone would want to hide here. Unless the teenagers had been doing drugs, which was probably the case.

"We're together now, anyway. Might as well stay that way, and I'll be your eyes." She pulled Pip closer, clutching his wrist. "Follow me."

He turned around to the other two. "You heard ze girl, 'ang on, and don't make a lot of noise."

They nodded. The group made their way down the hallway, slowly.

Seras concentrated on walking, trying to go the easiest route possible so they wouldn't trip over anything. "Careful," she told them. "There's a big piece of concrete coming up."

They strained to see in the dark, but could only make out abstract shapes. "..Can you see everything?" One of them asked. "As good as we can in the day?"

She thought for a moment. "..Um, yeah, pretty much. But it's hard to describe. It's not really like daytime..it's just.." she trailed off.

Someone sighed. "I sure wish we could do zat right now. I 'ate being led around like a blind man."

She laughed slightly. Seras had been surprised about how accepting the Geese were of her..condition. "It's not as great as it sounds, really."

She hated it, despite it being useful in these situations. Just another reminder of her lack of humanity. She could see everything, all the details, from the titles on books to the names on doors.

"This is shitty," one of them said. Seras thought it was Peter, but wasn't sure. "If the freak vampire attacked us, we'd be completely defenseless."

Pip patted Seras' shoulder lightly. "Zat's not true, we 'ave the girlie, best vamp lady around."

She suddenly felt shy. "Thanks..I wouldn't let anything happen."

She wondered why he had so much faith in her sometimes. One minute he'd be saying how naive she was, how foolish she acted, and the next..

_'Wha-'_

She stopped, frozen. Like a chain reaction, Pip bumped into her and the others into him. "Oi! Let us know when you're going to just stop like zat!" Peter and Jim whined in agreement. "What's ze problem?"

"Shh!" She hushed them. "I thought I saw something." She whispered. They got serious quick, again straining to see, fear rising.

She brought up her handgun, directing it at a corner. Pip gripped her waist lightly, as to not upset her movement. Jim and Peter huddled behind him. It had to be hard for them, she knew, to be holed up in the dark like this.

There. She saw it, huddled in the corner, right next to the lockers. It was a young man, eyes sunken in and red, bloody teeth flashing. Just like something out of a horror movie, though this thing was very real, and very dangerous. He hissed at her.

The men behind her heard the sound and winced, but kept quiet. Pip had a death grip on her.

She bared her fangs back at the creature. She couldn't get a good shot because of it's angle. It probably did it on purpose. _'Damn.'_

She tried to muster up confidence. She had too, the Geese were depending on her. "Are you going to come out of there, or am I going to have to kill you with my bare hands!" She said, trying her best to sound like her Master. "You're _going_ to die, and a shot wound will hurt less than other things we could do!"

It laughed at her, a horrible, hair-raising sound. "You talk big, little girl, but I bet you wouldn't even come near me."

"Are you so sure of that, you damned freak?"

It cackled even harder at that. In fact, it laughed like something was down right hilarious. Pip's hands were shaking. "And what are you? What kind of fucking vampire are you? Protecting a group of mangy humans. That's a joke."

That thing was really irritating her. "What I am is none of your business!"

A twisted grin spreading across it's face. "...Oh, I get it. You're one of those bloodsucking whores right? The ones that bang humans before they kill them, right? Ha ha wha--"

She pulled the trigger, the shot exploding and hitting the corner of the lockers. The vampire screeched and dove to the right, clashing it's fangs together. She heard yells from the men as she ran at it, crashing onto the floor.

The Geese were in a panic. "Shitfuck! I can zee a fucking thing, Seras, where are you?" Spurting out curses, Pip searched around for his gun.

She punched at the creature, trying to put it into a police lock. It was stupid of her, losing her temper and dropping the gun. The creature clawed at her with long nails.

Another shot rang out, missing Seras' foot by and inch. It startled the both of them, and they froze for a moment. The vampire took advantage of her hesitation and bolted.

Pip shot at it again, blindly, hitting it's side out of luck. It yelled but kept running, leaving a trail of blood behind.

Seras started to run after it. "HEY!" 'Can't let it get away!!'

Pip realizing where she was going, and knowing she was being impulsive, smacked into her from the side. He pulled her back. "No you wait!"

Despite his strength, Seras own was greater, and she ended up dragging him along with her.

The two other men were left behind. "BOSS!"

Pip roughly pulled at her again, but it was no use. He was being jerked down the hallway. "Look for ze closest way out! Get yourselves outta 'ere!!" He called out, hoping they would do as he asked. They'd be okay, they were resourceful, but..

Had to focus on his current predicament. _'How do I get myself into zis shit?' _He could let go..but that would mean being left behind, or worse. He was too far away from his men now. Lost alone in the dark? Not a good idea.

Seras raced on, seemly unaware of his presence at her side, wrapped up in her anger. The Captain was not running as easily, sprinting just to keep up. "Slow down dammit! Slow down!"

She wasn't listening. "No, we-have-to-"

He pushed all his weight into her and regardless of her strength, he was taller. She let out a cry as they were knocked over hard onto the floor.

The girlie wasn't happy, but he had to calm her down. "What ze hell Seras!?"

She pushed and kicked, but not hard, and not harming him. He would have bruises tomorrow, but that was all, and he didn't budge.

Her eyes flashed red, glowing eerily in the dark. "Get off!"

He was straddling her, pushing her shoulders down, trying to keep her from getting up. He knew she was having one of her episodes that ran deeper than just pure anger. The root of it he didn't know, but he knew emotional rage when he saw it. "Mignonette, calm dow-"

"NO! GET OFF!" Her voice was rough, and it made goosebumps crawl over his skin. The back of his mind was saying 'danger, danger, get back', as if he were touching some great predator.

Swallowing his fear, he took a chance and moved his hands to cup her cheeks, smoothing her hair from her forehead. "Mon ami--"

She fidgeted for a moment, those haunting eyes drilling holes through his skull. His own blue-green one peered right back.

She sneered once, then physically relaxed, blinking back the crimson in her eyes. They were wide and blue once again.

Pip let out a sigh and eased down as well. He was happy(and lucky) that he was not thrown through a wall.

"Gave me a scare for a minute zere, girlie. Can't lose your head like zat."

Seras looked away, ashamed at her outburst. From wrath to sadness, from rubies to sapphires, the changes she could undergo amazed him sometimes.

"Um, s-sorr.." she coughed. "Sorry..I mean.."

_'Don't look like such a kicked puppy damnit.'_ He grinned at her. "Don't look like zat. You 'aven't hurt anyone."

She looked up at him through white-blond bangs. He continued. "--But you'd better learn from zis time, cause if it 'appens again you'd bet your ass I'll drill you out on it. Rash behavior in battle gets everyone killed."

She nodded curtly, but gave him an odd look. A faint blush colored her cheeks.

Pip wondered what that was for, then noticed that he was still sitting on her, her being sprawled out beneath him. He became fully aware of her tight, clingy uniform, arms tossed back over her head. He swallowed nervously, his body beginning to react to their current position. _'Ah fuck!'_

He jumped up and off her in an instant, trying to cool down without her noticing anything.

She got up, narrowed eyes turned away from him. He wondered what she was thinking, but knew better than to ask.

"Well..." He casually ran a hand through his hair. He was flustered and a little embarrassed, which was rare for him. He was at at loss for words. A short silence added to the awkwardness.

Seras spoke up first. "--we should find the others."

"Yeah." He replied, putting the last few moments behind for now. "Yeah, good idea Mignonette."

_'Did she just roll her eyes at me?' _

He sighed, wrapping his thick braid back around his neck. The girlie was a strange one. Seras was the only girl he knew that could get him so worked up; made him feel like a virgin teenager or something. He reached out and grasped her wrist.

While Pip was contemplating, Seras was scanning the dark as they made their way back down the hall. She called out for Peter and Jim, though the only response she got was the echo of her voice.

"I told zem to find zere way out. Ze're probably outside." Pip told her.

Seras raised her eyebrows. "You think? But they can't see anything, how could they.."

He shrugged. "Zey're good men, I trained zem, afterall."

She huffed. "Regardless, I don't think.." Not to burst his bubble, but she didn't think two humans could find their way out that easily. "I mean-"

She didn't get to finish, as a crash sounded somewhere close. They both froze.

Seras couldn't see any movement. 'Must have came from the next hall over.'

They didn't move for a minute, listening for any further noise; but nothing happened.

"That was weird.." Seras whispered.

"We should go zee what ze 'ell it was. Zink you can keep calm?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm alright now."

They walked in silence towards the direction it came from. They could really only guess, though Seras' hearing was acute. They eventually ended up in a large classroom, or office. It looked just like the rest of the building: dark, musty, and empty.

"Nothing again." Seras' sighed tiredly. "I'm getting sick of just wandering around."

At that moment Pip's foot got caught on the leg of a chair, and he tripped. His companion kept in a snort of laugher as he fell flat on his face. "At least you can zee where the fuck you're going!"

"I can't help that, Captain."

He sat down on the floor. "I can't even zee my own 'and in front of my own face and we've been looking for ze same bloody vampire forever. Why don't we just zit right here and wait for ze damn thing?"

Seras face-faulted. "But-"

He yanked on her arm, pulling her down next to him. She couldn't argue, he had a point, but she was starting to get annoyed with everything. How could they just sit there and wait? She felt lazy.

Though she didn't feel like arguing with her Captain. He rarely complained about missions, requirements, anything. But this particular vampire hunt had been very tiring and long. He was scowling, back pressed against the wall and mumbling in French. Fighting with him now would be like fighting with a brick wall.

Seras' thoughts wandered..she looked more closely at the room they were in. It was filled with student desks and old books..general things found in a classroom. What made it eerie was the lack of young people, students, teachers. She guessed no one had been in here in years.

_'Except for those kids that were slaughtered.' _

She shook her head, clearing that thought from her head. Best not to think about it, made things worse.

A question appeared in her mind to replace it. She wasn't going to ask, but it was bringing up her curiosity.

She cleared her throat. "..What was high school like for you Captain?" She hoped she wasn't being too bold in asking.

He blinked, brow furrowing. It was an odd question only because he hadn't thought about school in so long. It seemed like it was ages ago. It wasn't, but considering how much he'd been through, how many battles he'd fought, school just seemed like a distant dream.

"What's to say about it? It was school, it was a pain in the ass and I dropped out."

"Oh." She replied, twirling a strand of her short hair around her finger. "That bad? It was for me too. But I bet you had a lot of friends."

He scoffed. "What makes you say zat?"

"I don't know, you just seem like you were one of those..cool guys."

He smirked then. The idea was funny. "Are you trying to flatter me or somezing?"

"No!" She answered quickly. "That's just how I pictured you is all."

His smile grew, it was so easy to get her worked up. "Non, mignonette. I was not popular. I was spit at and picked on because my family's all mercenaries. All ze ozer assholes I went to school with didn't accept zat. Eventually I got sick of it. I got into many fights. "

Seras listened with sympathy. Her teenage years were horrible, so she could guess what it must have been like for him. "..I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He shrugged. "Ze past is ze past, no big deal now. Glad you care so much zough girlie."

He was teasing her. But she wasn't going to deny it, she did care. She wasn't heartless. However it was hard to get how he could just shrug off bad memories and pain. Her issues had haunted her deep down for so long, not always thought about, but still there.

She fidgeted with her hands nervously. "My school years were bad too."

Pip turned to her. "Really? I wouldn't have thought zat." He didn't know anything about her past, actually; only that she was a police women before Hellsing. He never was one to pry into peoples lives. They were who they were for a reason and that was the end of it.

"Yeah." She continued. "I wasn't well-liked either. I lived in an orphanage most of my life, and I didn't get along with other people. School was hard. Kids can be mean anyway, but everyone was really bad for some reason. Maybe it was just me, but.."

She trailed off, some memories rising to the surface, not recalled in a long time. The girls were terrible when she was fifteen, targeting her out for no good reason. Or no reason that she was aware of. Seras had been a brooding teenager then, a loner in her classes. The older girls, the ones that were better off, had gossiped about her. She had gone to a school dance once, why she couldn't remember, but they had been there. Laughing at her because she had no boyfriend, no friends.

Pip was really interested, listening to bits of her past, and it was his turn to be empathetic. "Orphanage? You too?"

That snapped her from her thoughts, and she was brought back to the present. "What do you mean?"

He paused. "My parents died when I was small."

She slowly nodded in understanding. "My mum and dad.." she let out a breath. "They..."

"...Died and you were left alone. I've sung zat tune before. I know."

Pip had had no father to come home to after a hard day at school. No mother to try and take care of him, to stick up for him. His grandfather was there, yet another mercenary, with issues of his own. Not much comfort was given save his honest opinion and the truth. When he passed away, not much changed.

So Pip fought, he defended himself, he learned.

Seras smiled bitterly.

The conversation was starting to get depressing. He decided a change of topic was needed. "Still, you not liked? I won't believe zat Mignonette. I'm _sure_ you 'ad hoards of boys on your tail."

She made a face. "Um, no. Are you trying to flatter _me_ now Captain?"

He grinned again. "Yes."

_'I shouldn't have asked.'_ She felt the heat rise to her face.

"I'll have you know I stayed clear of any kind of romance." She stated stubbornly.

He laughed. "I did too. Well, in highschool, anyway."

"Now that surprises me."

He leaned in closer to her. "I'm full of surprises, _mon cherie_."

Her face darkened. She was doing enough blushing for a lifetime. "Right." She waved him away.

He thought for a moment, and it was quiet. "..So...we're both orphans that had lonely childhoods. Nice to know we 'ave somezing in common, eh Seras?"

Leave it to him to say something like that. "I guess." She smiled. Captain Bernadette was strange sometimes, but then again, so was their relationship.

They laughed. No real reason, but when one shares suppressed, painful memories..you either laugh or cry. Laughing just seemed easier, and in their life, they were sick of tears.

"Really Policegirl, I come in this filthy place, do your job, and this is what I see?"

Pip and Seras shut up quickly and jumped upright. "MASTER?" Seras squeaked. "Wha-Wha..?!"

Towering in the doorway was indeed her Master Alucard. His crimson eyes shined like fire in the dark, peering down at them from a pale face. Behind him waved Jim and Peter.

"Guys!" Pip yelled. "You made it out of zis 'ellhole and brought back reinforcements!"

They looked down at the floor, and shifted nervously. "Well yeah, we got out Sir, but uh..the enemy's already been killed. This guy took care of that." They gestured to Alucard.

Seras was ashamed. "..I'm sorry Master. We almost had him, I shot at him! But um, he got away and-"

"Oh really?" His dark voice purred, almost taunting her excuses. "Then why were you in the dark with the Frenchman, instead of looking for the enemy?"

_'He didn't have to word it like that!''_ "I-"

"-She was taking care of us!" Pip interrupted. Seras looked startled, an expression on her face that said 'don't'. He continued anyway. "My flashlight broke, we lost ze two idiots over zere, so we we're defenseless. It's not her fault. She got stuck babysitting ze Geese."

Alucard looked at him only after the merc's speech was over. Pip tried not to fidget under the tall vampire's gaze. "So you're taking the blame, Frenchman?"

Pip reminded himself that the vampire could not harm him, despite how intimidating Alucard looked. Miss Integra wouldn't allow it. "Yeah, I am. Don't be so 'ard on zis girl, she tries her best." '_There, I said it_.'

The vampire laughed slightly, a deep, chilling sound. He turned away from him, handing Seras a flashlight. "Fine. But don't let it happen again, do you hear me PoliceGirl?"

She perked up. "Yes Master!"

They all followed behind, and Pip let out the breath he was holding in. _'Glad that's over. That bastard is so fucking creepy.'_ He relaxed, knowing there was no monsters lurking in the dark anymore, they weren't lost, and were on their way home.

Seras studied him from the right. He didn't have to do that, she could've handled the lecture from her Master. But she appreciated it.

She tapped Pip on the shoulder, handing him a flashlight. "Zanks." He said.

A few moments past, and it was quiet again. She knew Alucard wasn't going to say anything, and the two other mercenaries were silent, afraid of him. Pip just looked forward, careful of the things that littered the ground.

She had a sudden thought, and her stomach did a flip-flop.

She reached out and grasped Pip's wrist. He turned to her and held up the flashlight. "It's okay, I 'ave the light-"

"-I know." She said quickly, turning her face away from him. He gave her a confused look, until she slid her hand down to hold his.

His eye widened a bit. He hadn't expected that. Her hand was cold, but very soft, different from his own rough ones. Her grip tightened gently.

He leaned closer to her, lacing their fingers together. His thumb did small, smoothing circles on the back of her hand.

She still didn't look up at him, so he just admired her, thought of how pretty she looked, even when covered in shadow.

_'So what if neither of us had anyone in highschool? Those who laughed and ridiculed us can't fucking say anything; Mieux vaut tard que jamais.'_

-End-

* * *

This fic took me so long(because it _is_ so long). Well I hope the ending wasn't too cheesy..I'm still trying to work on my romance scenes. I'm trying to work on alot of things in my writing, actually, heh. Still learning. Y'know I can't decide whether I like this story or hate it. And yes, I attempted to write Pip's accent. Why? I dunno. It was hard. Once again, I hope it didn't come out too bad. Oh, and that last line is supposed to say 'better late than never.' My french could be off, though. 

Anyway, I had fun writing this, and I hope you enjoyed reading it.

'Till later

-DarkMignonette


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